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New electric vehicle battery goes 100km further

SK Innovation, a leading petrochemical company that also produces batteries, has developed a type of battery that will extend the driving range of electric vehicles by 100 kilometers (62 miles).

“SK Innovation started the world’s first commercial production of NCM 811 batteries which extend driving range by 100 kilometers more than existing batteries can do,” the company said in a press release on Thursday.

The NCM 811 is the follow-up to the previous NCM 622 batteries. The proportion of Nickel (Ni) in the new battery was increased compared to its predecessor, while the quantity of other chemicals has decreased.

“NCM 811 batteries will help extend the driving range of EVs up to 500 kilometers and we will also develop new battery that can provide a range of more than 700 kilometers by 2020,” said Lee Jon-ha, senior researcher at the company’s battery R&D center.

Lithium-ion batteries with a higher proportion of nickel can cause problems such as overheating and short battery life.

The company has increased the proportion of nickel from 6 to 8 this time around, but was able to resolve the issues with a ceramic coated separator.

“SK Innovation’s proprietary technology for ceramic coated separators is focused on better stability,” said the company in a press release.

The development of the NCM 811 battery is the company’s latest attempt to expand its share in the market.

The battery market is growing alongside the electric vehicle market, with some research projecting the market will increase in size by more than 40 times.

The company’s goal is to secure 30 percent of the global market share by 2025.

The new battery will be available next year and will start to appear in electric vehicles starting in the third quarter of 2018.